Label printer

ABSTRACT

A label printer including a print head, a platen positioned under the print head and over which a strip of stock carrying labels, tags or the like is adapted to be fed, a feeder mechanism for feeding the strip over the platen, and a strip control roller positioned and adapted to hold the strip down against the platen to prevent the strip from moving rearwardly and to force the strip to one side of the platen so that the strip is properly aligned with respect to the print head.

Unlted States Patent 1191 1111 3,899,971 Dudley Aug. 19, 1975 [5 LABEL PRINTER 3,075,457 1/1963 Worth 226/2148 X 3,107,089 10/1963 Lo k 71/52 lnventOr: John S- Dudley; DOuglaS, Mass. [73] Assignee: Dennison Manufacturing Company, 3,176,980 4/1965 Mitchellw 271/52 Framin ham Mass 3,256,813 6/1966 Casey 101/292 g 3,652,001 6/1972 Artelt 226/147 [22] Filed: Mar. 11, 1974 2 1 App] 449 92 Primary E.raminerEdgar S. Burr R l t d U S A r t. D t Assistant ExaminerEdward M. Coven ea 9 pp a a Attorney. Agent. or FirmDona1d Brown; Dike. [63] Continuation of SET. NO. 357,873, May 7. 1973, Bronstein Roberts Cushman & Pfund abandoned, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 187,732, Oct. 8, 1971, abandoned.

[57] ABSTRACT C1. 101 292; 101 232; 271 52; [52] U S 226/l48 A label prmter mcludmg a print head, a platen p05 tioned under the print head and over which a strip of [51] 1nt.Cl .,B41f1/08 t k I lb] tdt b 58 Field of Search 101/232, 228, 288, 292; a esatags e l e O e fed, a feeder mechanlsm for feeding the str1p over the 226/59, 148, 151, 271/52 platen, and a str1p control roller p0s1t10ned and [56] References Cited adapted to hold the strip down against the platen to prevent the stnp from movmg rearwardly and to force UNITED STATES PATENTS the strip to one side of the platen so that the strip is Lange X properly respect to the print head 2,531,644 11/1950 Rayburn 226/148 X 2 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTED AUG-7 91975 FIG! LABEL PRINTER This is a continuation, of application Ser. No. 357,873, filed on May 7, 1973, nowabandoned, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 187,732, filed on Oct. 8, 1971, nowabandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to printers of the type having a platen and a print head movable back and forth towards a label positioned on the platen to print information thereon. Printing devices of this type are disclosed in US. Pat. Nos. 3,366,050 and 3,379,128.

In such printing devices as disclosed in the aforementioned patents, tagsv or label stock in roll or strip form isfed over the platen by means of a feed pawl or fingers which reciprocates back and forth to push the stock across the platen and under the print head.

The feed finger engages notches formed in the strip of tag stock in order to push the stock over the platen. In the past, in order to prevent the stock from backing up as the feed pawl moves on its return stroke, pressure plates have been provided.

Although machines of this type have proven quite ac ceptable there has developed a need for machines that require less parts and less adjustment to set up for each run of labels to be printed. Also in the past such machines have also included a movable and adjustable guide member which too must be set depending upon the size of the stock used.

To overcome the above disadvantages, this invention provides a new and improved roller which eliminates the need for a pressure plate that holds the stock on the platen when the feed pawl is on the return stroke. In addition, when this type of roller is positioned at a predetermined angle, an adjustable guide is no longer required to accommodate different size label stock.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a front view of the label printer according to this invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is an end view taken along line 3-3 of FIG.

FIGS. 4 5 are diagrammatic views illustrating the operation of the roller according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Reference should now be had to FIGS. 1-3 which disclose the construction of the printing machine according to the invention. At there is shown the machine bed which supports in a conventional manner a feed reel 11 and a take up reel 12. The feed reel provides a strip 13 of label stock stored on reel 11 in a roll.

The label stock has a plurality of feed slots, one of which is shown at 13a, and supports a plurality of labels 13b spaced thereon. The labels 13b are adapted to be printed on and may be the type of labels which peel off and have an adhesive backing. The label strip 13 is fed between a cleaning brush 14a supported by a member 14!) and a guide roller 14c and thence over a platen 15 supported by the bed 10. The platen is positioned under a print head 16 of the type comprising a plurality of settable type bads 16d.

The print head is adapted to move back and forth, (that is towards and away from the platen) to print information on the labels. The construction of means to move the printing head towards and away from the platen is conventional and is shown in the aforementioned patents.

In order to feed the strip 13 over the platen, there is provided a rocker member 17 adapted to reciprocate back and forth to move a feed pawl or finger 18 back and forth to engage the feed notch 13a. In this manner the strip is incremented through the machine to print information on the labels or tags supported by the strip. The mechanism for moving the pawl back and forth is conventional as disclosed in the aforementioned patents and is also disclosed in devices of the prior art.

At 19 there is provided a guide member which is positioned to engage one side of the strip 13 in order to align it with respect to the printing head.

Reference should now be had to FIGS. 1-3 along with FIGS. 4 and 5 in which there is shown a pivot block 20 attached to the machine bed 10 and supporting by way of a pivot pin 21, a set screw 21a and a swing arm 22. The swing arm extends above the platen 15 and has a flange 23 which supports a roller means which comprises a bolt 24a, a nut 24b, an outer race 26a and an inner race or shaft 25.

On top of the outer race 26a, there is supported a tubular member 27 which moves therewith. The tubular member preferably has a high coefficient of friction so that when it engages the strip 13, it will rotate with it in one direction (the direction of feed) and will prevent it from moving rearwardly upon the rearward movement of the pawl 18 as it is moved to engage the next feed notched 13a. The tube may be constructed of a material such as rubber.

In addition, rollers 28 are provided which are rotatable between the inner and outer races. The rollers are held towards the left of FIGS. 4 and 5 by the provision of springs 29. In operation, when the race 26a begins to move clockwise as shown in FIG. 4 it is prevented from doing so as the rollers 28 wedge themselves between the races 26a and 25. Thus the tube 27 is prevented from making a revolution in one direction as shown by the arrow in FIG. 4.

On the other hand, when the race 26a rotates counterclockwise as shown by the arrow in FIG. 5, the rollers 28 are free to rotate and do not wedge to prevent rotation of the race 26a. A roller mechanism of this type may be purchased from The Torrington Company of Connecticut under the designation Torringtons Drawn Cup Overrunning Roller Clutch.

At 32 in FIG. 3 there is shown a spring which resiliently urges the arm 22 counterclockwise to force the roller tube 27 against the strip 13. The amount of spring pressure is adjustable by the provision of a set screw 33.

In order to maintain the side of the strip 13 against the guide 19, the axis of the roller tube 27 is positioned at a slight angle with respect to a line at to the side wall of the guide 19 in order to force the strip against the guide. Thus roller tube 27 is positioned at a small angle with respect to the direction of travel of the strip 13.

An angle of 2 has been found to be suitable for this purpose, although the exact angle is not critical so long as the strip side is forced against the guide and does not at the same time substantially inhibit the feeding of the strip 13.

In operation, the strip 13 is fed incrementally into the machine as the pawl 18 reciprocates back and forth. On the forward movement of the pawl 18 (left of FIG. 2) the roller tube 27 rotates with the strip. On this return of the pawl to the right of FIG. 2, the roller tube 27 is prevented from rotating as the roller 28 wedges between the races. This action thus prevents the strip from moving towards the right of FIG. 2 with the feed pawl to cause the strip to go out of alignment.

I claim:

1. A label printing apparatus in which label stock in strip form are fed to the apparatus for applying print to the label stock, said label printing apparatus comprising a base, a platen supported by the base, a printing head movable back and forth between a printing position adjacent to the platen and a retracted position, means for intermittently feeding the stock over the platen, means for moving the print head to print on the stock and then retract the head, edge side wall guide means supported by the apparatus for guiding one edge of the stock, and a roller unit supported by an arm supported by the apparatus including a roller means for engaging the stock and rotating with the movement of the stock, the axis of the roller being positioned at an angle with respect to a line at to the side wall of the edge side wall guide means to urge the stock towards said edge side wall guides means, and said roller unit comprises an outer race, and an inner race supported by said arm, said roller being of a high coefficient of friction material and being supported by said outer race, a plurality of wedging rollers positioned between the inner and outer races and in rolling contact with both of said races, a plurality of cut outs formed in the outer race which are of a dimension to permit the roller to freely rotate while positioned therein and a plurality of springs supported by the outer race, each spring urging a different one of said plurality of wedging rollers away from one of said cut outs, said rollers wedging themselves between the races when the outer race is rotated in one direction to prevent the stock from moving away from the edge guiding means and along the platen, spring means supported by the apparatus for urging said roller against said stock, and means for adjusting the pressure applied by said spring.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 in which said roller includes a rubber member. 

1. A label printing apparatus in which label stock in strip form are fed to the apparatus for applying print to the label stock, said label printing apparatus comprising a base, a platen supported by the base, a printing head movable back and forth between a printing position adjacent to the platen and a retracted position, means for intermittently feeding the stock over the platen, means for moving the print head to print on the stock and then retract the head, edge side wall guide means supported by the apparatus for guiding one edge of the stock, and a roller unit supported by an arm supported by the apparatus including a roller means for engaging the stock and rotating with the movement of the stock, the axis of the roller being positioned at an angle with respect to a line at 90* to the side wall of the edge side wall guide means to urge the stock towards said edge side wall guides means, and said roller unit comprises an outer race, and an inner race supported by said arm, said roller being of a high coefficient of friction material and being supported by said outer race, a plurality of wedging rollers positioned between the inner and outer races and in rolling contact with both of said races, a plurality of cut outs formed in the outer race which are of a dimension to permit the roller to freely rotate while positioned therein and a plurality of springs supported by the outer race, each spring urging a different one of said plurality of wedging rollers away from one of said cut outs, said rollers wedging themselves between the races when the outer race is rotated in one direction to prevent the stock from moving away from the edge guiding means and along the platen, spring means supported by the apparatus for urging said roller against said stock, and means for adjusting the pressure applied by said spring.
 2. An apparatus according to claim 1 in which said roller includes a rubber member. 